Growing your own food

I plan to try growing my own this summer. We have very rocky soil here, so I'm going to try to do container gardening. I look forward to some home grown veggies.

I grow what I can, but must purchase the rest. My garden is rather small and the soil is clay. But I am adding lots of container pots and plan raised beds this year. That way I can have better control over the soil and moisture. But you are right; we don't grow food when when can. Most everyone has a porch, patio, or balcony, at least. We may not be able to grow enough for the year, but every little bit helps.

I agree you can save a ton of money and even earn some too. My family has had a garden my whole life. My parents had one and now I have one. We've grown tomatoes, green peppers, blueberries, peas, green beans, broccoli and pumpkins. This year I plan to have a much larger garden than usual. My hope is to grow most of our veggies and share extras with our neighbors. They usually grow different veggies/fruits than we do, so we can exchange. It really helps a lot.

I don't grow my own fruits and vegetables. But I remember when I was young, we frequently visit my grandparents in the province, they have a big backyard. And in that backyard are different fruit-bearing trees and other plants. My grandmother tended her "little" garden and she could create a dish out of those things.

i can't do much on account of my health but my neighbors & i put out some tomatoe, pepper & squash plants in the spring. i was so disappointed they didn't do worth a hoot, we had a drought in the summer & even tho we watered them it wasn't like rainwater,

I have always lived in apartment complexs so have not had the chance to grow my own food. I recently moved to a townhouse and noticed my neighbor had a little vegetable garden growing at the side of her portion of the building. I have always dreamt of starting my own garden for vegetables, but would of had not idea where to even begin and it would probably be a dismal failure. I struck up a friendship with my neighbor though and she offered to let me share her garden plot to start one together. I am eagerly anticipating the spring (or whenever you start planting, lol) and hope for a big success. This will hopefully cut down on my expenses as I do tend to eat a lot of vegetables and also give me something creative and fun to do outside during the summer months.

I am surprised too, at how many people never even try. I grow as much of my own food as I can. Even in an apartment, one can grow herbs and even some vegetables if you have a sunny window.

I just started my vegetable garden this weekend and I hope that I will be able to harvest my own greens. My mother has also planted her own greens and some fruit trees and some of her trees, like her papaya is already starting to bear fruit. I do believe that aside from it being cheaper, it is more healthier because we don't spray chemicals on our plants.

It may be easy if you have someplace where you can have a garden, but to just make a blanket statement that it's ridiculous not to raise your own food is a bit... closed minded, shall we way? I used to garden, when I owned my home. Now that I live in a third floor apartment, it's just a wee bit impractical. And from long years of experience in growing food in different climates, I can tell you that it isn't necessarily easy. It's a learning process, just like any other, and success often depends on weather, soil conditions, insects and diseases. I doubt that many people are lucky enough to have ideal gardening conditions.If you're physically fit, and have the time for gardening, the willingness to learn, and the patience to deal with failures, then gardening can be very rewarding.

i don't have a big yard but i grow what i can. i grow tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow beans, strawberries and raspberries. it's so nice to just go outside and pick fresh fruit and veggies

I have before up until last year when we moved into this new house in town, but I am going to this year and am already planning it and getting my seed catalogs and stuff. i want to be able to grow most of our veggies so we can survive with only going to the store to buy meat.

..hi raven.. yes.. my family used to plant vegetables for our consumption and for sale at the same time.. this is our way of life and we enjoy it even it is somwhat hard..

I find it impossible to grow my own food - first because I don't have the space for it. I live far from home and only have a single room for myself. There's absolutely no way I can care for it. And I also don't have the time to. It's nice to hear that you do so for yourself though :) I like seeing people grow their own food when they can, I will make sure to do so when I get my own space and when I care for my own house :D Thanks for the response on my discussion!

I am afraid to tell you that I have to disagree with it being easy! LOL! We had a hard time with our garden last year. I am hoping that through research and getting started sooner that our garden will prosper this year! Last year we moved to this place in March and our garden was a big flop. We did not have the time to properly prepare it. This year is different. I am hoping that it will be very successful! We did luck out on wild blackberries, grapes, plums and persimmions. The blackberries were wonderful! I picked plenty of them. We have added ducks and chickens to our accomplishments for 2008. We have eggs and hopefully meat as well. Soon we hope to add rabbits to our meat list. I would love to incorporate honey bees, goats and pigs as well! That will take time though. We are seriously working on providing for ourselves.

*raises my hand* Me, me! Actually, we've been farmers for years. We're only just now back in thecountry trying to farm again after a little over a year stuck in the city (we had a victory garden there, that did pretty well too, though). This year though, I'm working on not only feeding my family with our farm, but turning it into a business too. (Not mention, trying to store food for winter months like we haven't been able to do too steadily for a long time). You're right, it really does save alot of money. Especially if you save the seeds.

well, not everyone has a lot of room to grow their own food but you are right, it is easy and not that expensive to grow your own food. last year, we got tomato plants that were marked down and grew our own tomatoes and this year i would like to grow my own herbs.

Howdy! I can grow just about anything I want to inside my home. Vegetables, flowers, perrenials, fruits and even strawberry vines. I start all my seedlings in my kitchen with egg cartons, soil, chopsticks and aluminum foil. My next project is to see if I can grow bamboo outside this summer! It will make a great border and would look great with some foxtail accents. Add some blueberry bushes and you've got a great edible border around your yard! Thanks for a great topic! meow & ciao! !^..^!